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Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Dedicated to the art and history of photographic arts, with works from famous photographers such as Ansel Adams. The museum also holds changing exhibitions and a theater that plays art and cult films.
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. First founded in 1974, MOPA opened in 1983. MOPA is one of three museums in the US dedicated exclusively to the collection and preservation of photography, with a mission to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film and video. The museum's address is 1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA, 92101.
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This museum has a large collection of artifacts and exhibits showcasing the history of the city. If you don't want to pay to enter the museum itself, you can just walk into the building (which contains three separate museums) and look at some historical photographs on the walls of the atrium.
If you have kids or know a train buff, a visit to this fantastic museum should be high on your list. Just like the name suggests, this institution is dedicated to model railroading, with some of the largest model railroad layouts in the world. There are also some interactive exhibits and displays on the history of railroads in San Diego.
One of the oldest youth theater programs in the country, the Junior Theatre holds many live performances.
Like any natural history museum, this one has a lot of big dinosaur skeletons. Exhibits on the local ecology and geology are also prevalent throughout the museum, as well as a massive Foucault pendulum in the entrance hall. There are also many changing exhibitions and a giant-screen theater.
A small art museum with collections of lesser-known pieces from famous European old masters, American, and Russian painters.
This popular science museum is filled with dozens of interactive exhibits of interest to children, young adults and grown-ups too. There's also an IMAX theater in the building, one of the world's first.